Lifeguards of San Diego County

Lifeguards of San Diego County traces the origins of the nine professional lifeguard agencies that serve the public swimming, diving, and boating along the shorelines of San Diego County. Sporadic lifeguard service existed as early as 1906, but on a single day in 1918, thirteen people drowned at Ocean Beach. The drownings focused community and government attention on the need for consistent lifeguard services along San Diego County's beaches. Today there are more than 600 lifeguards from city and state agencies that serve San Diegans throughout the county. Here for the first time, the origins, experiences, and stories of these dedicated and most often heroic people are woven together into one volume.

Author Michael T. Martino examines the beginnings of each agency and their leaders and depicts the exciting work of ocean and bay rescues in San Diego County through photographs provided by individuals and lifeguards from these city and state agencies. Martino is a lifeguard supervisor at Silver Strand State Beach in San Diego County. He has worked as a lifeguard since 1986 on the state beaches of San Diego County, Sonoma County near the Russian River, and the central valley reservoirs of Merced County, and teaches lifesaving techniques to other lifeguards throughout the state of California.